For Christians, Easter's message is that Jesus is 'our life'

The stained-glass window depicts the Resurrection of Christ at St. Peter's… (Morning Call File Photo )

April 23, 2011

"Resurrexit sicut dixit!" "For he has risen as he said!" (Matthew 28:6)

Today many people gather in churches around the world and celebrate Easter. The celebration often continues in the homes of family and friends, sharing delicious foods and lively conversations.

Easter is fundamentally a religious holiday and not a secular one. It is not ultimately about eggs, bunnies and candy. Don't get me wrong, I love all three, but they are only secondary signs of what Christians celebrate. Easter is about an empty tomb. When Peter and John ran to the tomb on Easter morning they found the stone removed from the entrance and saw only the burial wrappings. The fact that the former occupant of the tomb was alive gave new meaning to their lives and every human life. This is what Christians mean by Easter.

It is not uncommon in today's society to find people who struggle to find the real value of their life and who wonder whether it simply ends with death. They sense that life has some purpose and direction, but they just can't put their finger on it. They are uneasy about giving up hope and becoming fatalistic but at the same time they wonder: What does life really mean?

A few years ago, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, archbishop of Vienna, Austria, wrote a catechism for young people called "YOUCAT," which has been translated into many languages. It has a question-and-answer format that is especially helpful for young people to learn the Christian faith. The very first question of the catechism is: "For what purpose are we here on earth?" The answer is simple: "We are here on earth in order to know and to love God, to do good according to his will, and to go someday to heaven." Yes, life finds its ultimate meaning as a way to heaven and eternal life, a road open for us because Christ has conquered sin and death and has risen.

This past week I visited a woman who recently had been told that she had an aggressive form of cancer. I had come to confirm her faith and give her the grace of Holy Communion and the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. We talked about her wonderful family and how they were being so kind and loving at this moment in her life. We talked about her desire to come to the Good Friday service at church and how she was now living the passion of Christ in a unique and personal way.

But the one thing that struck me most about my visit was what she said about death. She leaned over to me at a certain point in the conversation and said, "Monsignor, I'm not afraid to die." In order to assure me that she was very serious, she repeated, "I'm not afraid to die."

In her firm voice and clear eyes, I saw a faith in the resurrected Christ. In a concrete and personal way, she discovered the true meaning of Easter. Death was not a leap into the unknown but a door to an encounter with someone who gives meaning to her life now and eternally. The tomb is empty and Jesus is alive. Easter gives meaning to her life and her death.

Pope Benedict XVI tells us in his New York Times bestseller, "Jesus of Nazareth: Volume 2," that the phrase "eternal life" in the Gospel of John does not mean what we might assume — life after death. The Gospel uses the Greek word "zoe" for "life," which means "real life" or "life itself." Thus, as the pope writes, "a distinguishing feature of the disciple of Jesus is the fact that he 'lives': beyond the mere fact of existing, he has found and embraced the real life that everyone is seeking."

We speak of this life as "eternal life" because having a share in Christ's life — real life — carries us across the threshold of death into heavenly life. In communion with Christ we receive zoe and start living zoe now. As Pope Benedict puts it, in the person of Jesus, "the future is already here."

Recently a convert to Catholicism said to me, "Jesus is my life now. I live for Him." I couldn't have put it any better. Christianity is not primarily a set of rules and regulations but an encounter with a person who is alive. Christians celebrate at Easter that Jesus is our life.

The Rev. Msgr. Andrew R. Baker is pastor at the Cathedral Parish of St. Catharine of Siena, Allentown.